1 . Joseph Banks was born on 13 February 1743 in London．His passion for botany began at school．From 1760 to 1763 he studied at Oxford University, during which time he received a great deal of fortune．In 1766 Banks traveled to Newfoundland and Labrador, collecting plant and other specimens（标本）．The same year he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society．

In 1768 he joined the Society's expedition, led by Captain James Cook, to explore the uncharted lands of the South Pacific．The expedition circumnavigated（环航） the globe and visited South America, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and Java．Banks collected a great number of specimens on the way and, on his return, his scientific account of the voyage and its discoveries sparked considerable interest across Europe．

Banks was interested in plants that could be used for practical purposes and be introduced into other countries for possible commercial use．After he became president of the Royal Society in 1778, he promoted the career of many scientists and in his capacity as director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, sent many botanists abroad to find new plants and extend the Gardens' collection．

In 1781 Banks was made a baronet （准男爵）, and in 1795 received the order of Knight Commander of the Bath; two years later he was admitted to the Privy Council（枢密院）．In 1793 his name was given to the Banks Islands, a volcanic group of islands near Vanuatu in the Pacific．These were explored and named by Captain Bligh-Banks had helped arrange a previous expedition of Bligh's．Banks died on 19 June 1820．

1. Please choose the correct order about what happened to Jose Banks．
a．He received the order of Knight Commander of the Bath．
b．He sent many botanists abroad to find new plants．
c．He joined the Society's expedition．
d．He elected a fellow of the Royal Society．

A．c, d, a, b

B．d, c, b, a

C．d, b, c, a

D．c, d, b, a

2. The underlined word "sparked" in Paragraph 2 probably means _______________．

A．showed

B．amused

C．caused

D．declared

3. Which of the following best describes Joseph Banks?

A．Adventurous．

B．Humorous．

C．Demanding．

D．Skeptical．

4. Why was his name given to the Banks Islands in 1793?

A．Because he visited the islands．

B．Because he was admitted to the Privy Council．

C．Because he had close relationship with Captain Bligh．

D．Because he had helped arrange a previous expedition of Bligh's．

2 . We all know that eating junk food can make us fat. However, a new study suggests that it can do more than that—it can also make us lazy.

In the study, researchers at the University of California, divided 32 female rats into two groups. The first group was fed a diet of healthy food such as corn and fish, while the second was given a diet of highly processed food rich in sugar, namely “junk food”.

Within three months, the rats in the second group were already much fatter than those on the healthy diet. And when researchers trained the rats to do simple tasks, they found even more differences between the two groups rather than weight.

During the task—pushing a lever (杠杆) to receive a reward of sugar water—the rats on the junk food diet were found to be less willing to move, and they took longer breaks between each push than the lean (瘦的) rats did.

“It is as if the rat is thinking ‘This is too much work’,” Aaron Blaisdell, leader of the study.

But what about the possibility that the fat rats were less passionate about getting sugar water because they were already eating lots of sugar in their daily diet? That’s why researchers repeated the tests by rewarding fat rats with plain water when they were extremely thirsty. However, the results came out just the same.

The experiment didn’t end there. After six months, the rats’ diets were switched, and the overweight rats were given a healthy diet for nine days. However, this change didn’t help reduce their weight or improve their ability to perform tasks, which means the effects of their junk food diet continued. “There’s no quick fix.” said Blaisdell.

For a long time, we’ve believed that people become fat because they are lazy. But this study has proven the opposite to be true as well, which indicates that laziness and obesity (肥胖) are a “vicious cycle (恶性循环)”.

So, if you constantly feel tired, lacking any urge to get up from your chair, it could be that you’ve been studying too hard. But you should also pay attention to your diet.

1. What is the correct order of the research?
a. Researchers changed the rats’ diet.
b. Researchers divided 32 female rats into two groups.
c. Within three months, rats on junk food were much fatter that rats on healthy food.
d. Researchers rewarded fat rats with plain water when they were extremely thirsty.

A．bcda.	B．badc.
C．bacd.	D．bcad.

2. According to the passage, which of the following idea is Blaisdell most likely to agree with?

A．Most females are probably finding it hard to say no to junk food.

B．Sugar in water as well as in junk food serves the same vicious role in making us fat.

C．Your diet means most to you if you feel tired and don’t want to move from your chair.

D．There is no short cut for losing weight and overcoming laziness after eating too much junk food.

3. The tone of the author can be best described as ________.

A．relaxed	B．concerned
C．optimistic	D．passive

4. Which magazine can we read the passage from?

A．People	B．Entertainment Weekly.
C．Science and Life.	D．Economists.